juliajane

I will be there for 3 days with my daughter. Don't know where to start. Can someone recommend a tour guide/service or should we just book through hotel? My daughter is 14 so we may not last all day. Also I understand heat will be an issue.
Tour or guide ??? We really only have 2 1/2 days..any advice appreciated to simplify for us.
Maybe suggest itinerary or highlights.

Kathie

No need for a tour. You can use a guide or not (we just used a driver). Prepare by getting a copy of Dawn Rooney's book, Angkor: A Guide to Cambodia's Wondrous Temples (any edition). This will orient you to the temples and will give you enough info to choose which temples you want to see.

Plan to get to the temples as close to sunrise as possible (it will be less hot) and leave by noon to go back to your hotel for lunch and a cool dip in the pool. Then go back out about 3:30 or so and stay out until sunset. This will enable you to have maximum viewing time and also gets you out there at the time of day that is cooler and is best for photos.

Enjoy!

lcuy

If you are not all that interested in doing research on the temples, having a guide can be a great choice. You can book through your hotel or book through somewhere like Seven Candles:
http://www.sevencandlesguesthouse.com/#!our-tours

Be prepared to decide whether you want to tour in a car or in a tuktuk. The cars have AC. The tuktuks have cool air once you start moving, plus they are more open to the sights and sounds of the roads and villages.

If you aren't sure how much guiding you'll want, you can just book your first day, then go out with a guide again the next, or even just go out with a driver. As Kathie said, plan to go out in the early morning, have lunch and a swim (or nap) midday, then go back out again. Your guide is used to this. Many guides like to go home for lunch, so this is not something unusual.

There are other things to do besides temples, too. There's a great museum, a zip line, horseback riding through the rice fields and neighboring village, trips out onto the lake, ATVs, bike riding, or just wandering around town. Frangipani spa is a wonderful place to get anything from a half hour stress relief massage to a multi hour scrub, massage and facial. Prices are very reasonable, and there are several really cute shops on the same block as them.

HappyTrvlr

Where are considering going? Siem Reap and Phenom Penh? Or more? Three days only will make it difficult to see Siem Reap and Penom Penh.

CaliforniaLady

With a 14 year old in tow, I would not necessarily spend the entire 2.5 days looking at temples. At that age, my younger son would have jumped ship after an hour, and in fact, he would probably do the same today. If you decide to go to Angkor Wat, I would take one of those days and visit a remote water village instead.

Another possibility would be to go to Battambang instead. The surrounding area of the city is historically fascinating. There are ancient temples there, as well as twentieth century history from the Pol Pot regime. Your daughter might enjoy the variety there more than Angkor Wat.

If you decide to go to Angkor Wat, I liked having a guide. Your daughter would perhaps be interested in the wall carvings, and the guide can point them out. Also, there are many loose rocks all around, so the guide was able to point a clear path for me, and we locked arms when we went up steep steps, as he was worried that I was going to trip. It was quite gentlemanly of him.

juliajane

Thank you all for your replies. We will just be in Siem Reap. I think your right CaliforniaLady that my daughter will only be able to take so much temple seeing. I like the idea of water village and also the spa!!!